


The Lost City of Altea

by One_For_All



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura's mom is also technically Lance's mom, Atlantis: The Lost Empire - Freeform, Because they're siblings, F/M, I can't write gore as well as my bff can, I really love this movie ok, I've posted most this shit on tumblr already, It's definitely angst tho, Iverson is only in this for like a second, Like very vanilla gore tho, M/M, She's also only there for like a second, So I made this thing, btw i'm show-your-fandom-side on tumblr, sendak is also there for a split second, so there's that, there might be some gore later???
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-18
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-07 03:39:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10351494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/One_For_All/pseuds/One_For_All
Summary: Keith Kogane, the world's leading expert on Altea, is stuck in the boiler room of a museum because none of the curators will fund his expeditions. Now he's getting his chance to find the lost city and redeem his grandfather(it's literally just the movie)





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> The italics at the beginning is them speaking Altean. (if this was atlantean i could just use a mixture of latin and greek but no it's a made up language from a TV show so I can't do jack)

The city was in chaos. A large explosion, followed by a monstrous wave and warships, triggered the Altean warning system. A man shouted over the speaker system for everyone to evacuate into the shelters while several other men struck large bells. Red spotlights shone across the city in seemingly random patterns.

_"This way your highness. Quickly!"_ One of the palace guards gestured to the royal family.

Alfor's wife, Millei, grabbed the hands of her children, Lance and Allura, _"Allura! Lance! Come on!"_ She pulled her children after Alfor.

In their haste, Lance dropped his favorite stuffed lion. When he attempted to go back for it, Millei tugged him back to her.

_"Lance! Just leave it! There's no time!"_ She pleaded with her son. A red spotlight landed on her. She faced the source of the light as it turned blue, the crystal around her neck floating towards the light. Her eyes pupils and irises turned completely pale blue.

Alfor turned to see the, now blue spotlights land on his wife, who was still holding onto their children. The lights compressed on Millei's crystal before quickly expanding and pulling her into the light source. Her grip on Allura and Lance slackened but she still managed to hold onto the bracelet on Lance's wrist.

Allura and Lance reached up for their mother. _"Mother!"_ They cried. _"Mother!"_

Alfor grabbed both his children and hid their faces in his robes, _"Close your eyes! Look away!"_

Millei was fully immersed in the crystal in the sky, now swirling and powering the forcefield. The protected portion of the city sank and the ocean converged around it, dooming Altea to a life below the surface.

  
  
  
  
  


**_Washington, D.C. 1914_ **

 

"Thank you for agreeing to listen to my proposal," Keith began. "We've all heard of the legend of Altea, a highly advanced lost city somewhere in the mid-Atlantic that, according to Plato over there, was struck down by some sort of cataclysmic event that sank it beneath the sea." Keith tapped the fish bowl next to him with a stick to emphasize his point.

He picked up several cards with photos on them, "Some of you might ask, 'Why Altea? Isn't it just a myth? Pure fantasy'. That's where you'd be wrong!" He flipped through the cards. "Thousands of years before the Egyptians built the pyramids, Altea had electricity, advanced medicine, and even the power of flight! Impossible, you say? Not for them."

Keith smiled broadly, "Multitudes of ancient cultures across the world all agree that Altea had some sort of power. A power stronger than steam, coal, and even our modern internal combustion engines.

"I propose that we find Altea, find that power source, and bring it back to the surface," Keith flipped another card. "This is a page from an illuminated text that describes a book called the Shepherd's Journal. It's said to have been a first-hand account of Altea and where it is _exactly_."

He wiggled out from behind the podium and gestured to the chalkboard, "Based on some ancient Norse text, historians believed the Journal to be in Ireland," Keith hauled a Viking shield into his arms with little difficulty, "but after comparing it to the runes on this shield, I've found that it's been mistranslated!"

Keith pulled up his sleeve and wiped away the 'R' in Ireland. "So, by changing this letter and inserting the right one, I found that the Shepherd's Journal, the key to Altea, lies not in Ireland but in Iceland!" He wrote in a 'C' on the board and whispered to himself, "Pause for effect."

He dropped the shield back next to the podium, "I'll take questions now."

The phone rang.

Keith held up a hand, "Hold on a sec." He jumped onto the chalkboard so that it tilted backward and stopped on the desk with the phone. "Cartography and Linguistics, Keith Kogane speaking."

The angry museum employee screamed at him to fix the faulty heating.

He sighed, "Yeah, just a second." Keith slid back over the chalkboard, turned on a light, and moved past the people made of junk (supposed to represent his audience) to the boiler. He turned a few knobs and smacked it with a wrench. He slid over the chalkboard again and picked up the phone, "That good?"

The employee continued to yell at him but sounded extremely less aggravated.

"You're welcome," Keith turned back towards his practice presentation. "Now, as you can see by th-" He looked at the chalkboard, then down at himself. The map had rubbed off on his shirt, "-this, uh, map that I have, ahem, that I've drawn, I plotted the route that will take myself and a crew to the southern coast of Iceland so we can get the journal."

The cuckoo clock on the wall went off four times.

Keith took a deep breath, "Showtime. I'm finally getting out of the dungeon." He gathered up his notes and gazed fondly at a photo of him and Shiro, his brother, on the table.

A message landed in his mail slot.

He pulled it out, "Dear Mr. Kogane, this is to inform you that your meeting today has been moved up from 4:30 P.M to 3:30 P.M. What?" Keith glanced at the clock, it was already four o'clock.

Another message landed in his mail slot.

"Dear Mr. Kogane, due to your absence the board has voted to reject your proposal. Have a nice weekend. Mr. Iverson's office." Keith crumpled up the letters and grabbed his notes. "They can't do this to me!" He sprinted out the door towards the room he was supposed to present in. Iverson and a few other board members were leaving the room and laughing at Keith's expense.

 "Kogane gets crazier every year," He shook his head.

Another board member nodded, "If I hear the word 'Altea' again, I'll step in front of a bus."

 A third board member laughed, "I'll push you!"

 "Iverson!" Keith yelled.

 "Oh no!" The second board member screamed. Every board member scattered in different directions.

 "How did he find us?" Iverson yelled, trying to escape into a nearby room but they were all taken.

 "Iverson, sir!" Keith gritted out the 'sir' part. "Just listen to me! I have new evidence, please!"

 Iverson attempted to hide behind a plant before giving up and running out of the museum, Keith hot on his tail. He hopped into a car and shut the door.

Keith shoved his notes through the car window, "Hold these, now if you look at-"

"This museum funds scientific expeditions based on facts," Iverson interrupted, "not legends and folklore. Besides, we need you here." He shoved Keith's notes back into his hands.

"You do?" Keith asked, skeptically.

"Yes! Winter's coming and we need someone to man the boiler!"

"Boiler?"

"Move it, Heinz!" Iverson's car began moving.

Keith ran to keep up with the car. He pulled out a map. "There's a journal in Iceland! I'm sure of it this time!"

Iverson drew the window closed, hoping to ignore the leading expert of Altea.

Keith jumped onto the car's hood and shoved a paper against the windshield. "If you refuse to fund my proposal, this is my letter of resignation!" He fell off the car and onto the cobblestone road. "I'll quit!" He shouted.

The car stopped and moved in reverse. Iverson drew the window open looking unimpressed.

"I mean it! I'll-"

"You'll what? Destroy your entire career like your grandfather?" His eyes softened, "You have a lot of potential, Keith. Don't throw it away chasing fairy tales." 

"But I can prove Altea exists!" Keith pushed.

"You want to take an expedition? Here," Iverson tossed him a coin, "take a trolley to the Potomac and jump in! Maybe the cold water will clear your head! Heinz!" The car started forward again. This time Keith did not chase it.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> creepy female Santa Claus breaks into Keith's house and brings him to the solution to his work-life problems

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is SIGNIFICANTLY longer than the last chapter
> 
> *cough* over 2000 words *cough*
> 
> i also wrote, and am posting it at, 5am so don't judge

"Shiro? You here? I'm home," Keith called out into his apartment. He nearly dropped his notes when he saw the woman standing in front of his window.

"Keith Kogane?" She asked, her platinum blonde hair was tied up in a wrap and her piercing gold eyes shone through the darkness.

"Who the hell are you and how did you get in my apartment?" Keith reached for the knife hidden in his jacket.

"No need for violence, I came down the chimney," She adjusted her shawl in what was probably supposed to be a provocative manner. Too bad Keith was gayer than Tom Cruise rollerblading in cut-offs. "My name's Haggar Sinclair and my employer has a rather...intriguing proposition for you. Would you be interested?"

"Your employer? Who's your employer?" Keith asked.   
  
  
  
  


Keith gawked at the mansion, illuminated by lightning, with the words Marmora emblazoned on the plaque. He also gawked at the inside of the mansion, though he'd never admit to it, with all its ancient artifacts. He was reaching out to touch what looked to be some sort of armor when Haggar called out to him.

"This way, and don't drip on the Caravaggio. Step lively, Mr. Marmora doesn't like to be kept waiting." She strode into a gated elevator and Keith quickly followed. She tugged at his clothing in an attempt to make him look presentable. "You will address him as 'Mr. Marmora' or 'Sir'. You will stand unless told to be seated. Keep your sentences short and to the point, are we clear?"

She spoke so quickly, Keith only had time to catch half of what she said so he just nodded. When the elevator stopped, Haggar opened up the gate again, adding with a smile, "And relax, he doesn't bite...often."

Keith walked into the huge room, twisting and turning to look at every trinket, knickknack, bauble, tchotchke, and kickshaw that caught his eye. One, in particular, being a photo of his grandfather with another man hanging on the wall above the fireplace. "Grandpa?" He whispered.

"Finest explorer I ever met." A voice behind him said. Keith turned around to see the other man from the photo, in nothing but a purple robe, doing yoga. His leg was situated around his head. He offered his foot to shake, "Thace Marmora, nice to meet you, Keith. Join me in some yoga?"

Keith winced at the cracks coming from the always moving old man. "No thanks. You knew my grandfather?"

Thace contorted himself into another yoga pose. "Oh, yeah. Met him back in Georgetown for college. We were close friends until he died. He even dragged me along on some of his insane expeditions. Kogane was crazy as a fruit bat. Talked about you a lot."

"That's funny, he never said anything about you," Keith crossed his arms.

"The man knew how much I liked my privacy," Mr. Marmora changed poses again. "I like to keep a low profile. How's Shiro, by the way?"

"Shiro's fine." Keith turned away before he saw any more than he wanted to. "Um, should I be wondering why I'm here?"

Thace grunted, "Look on that table." He pointed to an intricately carved table with something wrapped on top of it. "It's for you."

"This is from my grandfather," Keith realized.

"He brought that to me years ago saying if anything happened to him, I should give it to you when you were ready." Thace stood, trading yoga for martial arts poses muttering, "Whatever that means."

Keith unwrapped the string and brown paper to reveal a brown leather book with metal lining and a gold swirl in the center. "No way. This is the Shepherd's Journal!" Keith turned on his heels to look at the wealthy old man. "Mr. Marmora, this journal is the key to finding the lost city of Altea!"

Thace chuckled, "I wasn't born yesterday, son."

"I'm serious!" Keith cracked open the book, "If you read this you'll find coordinates. Clues. It's all right here!"

Thace moved behind an old Asian changing screen, "Looks like a bunch of gibberish to me."

"That's because it's a dead language, and I've been studying dead languages since I could walk." 

"It's probably fake," Thace walked out into the open in a crisp purple suit that accented his purplish black hair.

Keith took a deep breath and closed the book, "Mr. Mamora, my grandfather would've known if this were a fake, hell, even  _ I _ would know if this were a fake. I would bet my life this were the real deal."

Thace made his way to a chair in front of his aquarium, "So what if it is, then? What'll you do with it?"

"I'm gonna need funding. The museum, maybe-"

"They'll never believe you." Thace interrupted.

"I'll  _ make _ them believe me," Keith assured. He had his chance, there was no way he was letting it go now.

"Oh, right. Much like you did today?" He smirked.

"What?" Keith paused in his pacing (he didn't even realize he was doing it). "You know what, forget them. I will rent a rowboat and paddle myself out into the middle of the Atlantic if that's what it takes!" 

Thace smiled slowly, "Congratulations, Keith. That's exactly what I wanted to hear from my linguistics expert. Forget the rowboat, son, you'll be finding Altea in style."

Keith's eyes widened at the model of the expedition submarine. "Whoa."

"Everything's been arranged," Mr. Marmora stood from his chair and stood next to Keith. "For years, your grandfather would not shut up about that old book. I didn't buy it for a minute. So, one day, he and I made a bet. I said, 'Kogane if you ever actually find that so-called journal, not only will I finance the expedition but I'll kiss you full on the mouth'." He chuckled. "Imagine my embarrassment when he actually did it," He gestured to a photo of them, most likely after the kiss judging by the disgusted looks on their faces.

"Now I know he's gone, God rest his soul, but I am a man of my word. You hear that, Kogane!" He yelled at the photo of them over the fireplace, "I'm going to the afterlife with a clear conscience!" He laughed and, Keith noticed, suddenly seemed ten times smaller. "Your grandpa was an amazing man, though you probably don't realize how amazing. Those idiots at the museum raked his name through the mud, dragged him down, made a laughing stock of him." Thace sighed. "He died a broken man, but if I could bring back just one shred of proof that'd be enough for me." The old man brightened. "What're we standing around for? We've got work to do!"

"Mr. Marmora, you do realize I'm going to need a crew," Keith pointed out.

Thace whacked his cane against some papers on his desk. (They were right next to the journal, Keith had no idea how he missed them.) "Already got it."

"You need engineers! And geologists!" He continued.

"Take care of." Thace spread out the papers. "The best of the best. Hunk Garrett; best demolition expert in the world and one of the best doctors in the world. Pidge Holt; the expedition's tech and mechanic expert. She once hacked into NASA for fun, when she was ten. The only reason she's not in prison is because her dad is very high in the United States government."

"That's amazing. Are they apart of the group that found the journal?" Keith leafed through the other files.

"Yep. Do you want to know where they found it?" Thace glanced at him in the corner of his eye.

"Where?" Keith's head snapped up from the files.

"Iceland."

"I fucking knew it!" Keith pumped a fist into the air.

"All we need now is an expert in dead languages and an experienced explorer. Your brother's both but he's not as good as you, so decision time. You can do what you've always wanted to do and find the lost city of Altea, or you can go back to the boiler room."

"This is actually happening," Keith ran a hand through his hair. Maybe he should get it cut before the expedition.

"Now you're catching on," Thace smiled.

"Yeah, okay. I'll have to quit my job," Keith began pacing again.

"You resigned this morning."

"I did?"

"Yep."

"What about my brother?" 

"Shiro's already agreed to come. Something about not wanting his little brother to start a war with a city that's been missing for centuries?" Thace glanced slyly at the young man.

"What about my cat?" Keith started when Red, his orange tabby meowed out of nowhere. "Holy shit."

"Your grandfather had a saying. 'Our lives are remembered by the gifts we leave our children'." Thace handed Keith the journal, "This journal is his gift to you, Keith. Altea's waiting for you, so what do you say?"

"There's no way I'd let you do this without me," Keith smiled feeling absolutely giddy.

  
  
  
  


Keith felt absolutely terrible as he threw up into the sea. He focused on the warm, comforting hand rubbing circles on his back, "Why's it always carrots, Shiro? I don't think I've eaten a carrot in three years."

Shiro laughed, "Welcome to the open ocean. Nothing makes sense out here."

A voice with a strange accent came on the intercom, "Attention. All hands to launch bay. And to whoever took the 'L' from the Motor Pool sign, you're a comedic genius and we are all laughing."

They both had a laugh at that and headed down into the ship. They wandered through the levels of the ship, until Keith finally asked someone, "Excuse me, where are we supposed to check in?"

Keith jumped when none other than Haggar Sinclair turned around, "Yes, Mr. Kogane? And Mr. Kogane." She looked Shiro up and down, Keith felt him shudder.

"You?" Keith asked but before he could question her more, an older man with a strange ginger mustache and a stranger, yet familiar, accent popped up behind her.

"I've got a bone to pick with you," He pointed an accusatory finger at her.

"What is it now, Coran? Aren't you supposed to be manning the intercom?" Haggar sighed.

"I took a little break. How do you expect me to cook with all these non-essentials? Cinnamon? Oregano? And what in blazes is Cilantro?"

"Look, Coran, the men need the four basic food groups. And not the four basic food groups from whatever country you were dragged out of." Not even Haggar knew where this man came from. "So pack it up and move it out."

Not long after Coran disappears did his voice crackle over the intercom again, "Attention. All hands to the launch bay. Final loading in progress."

Keith and Shiro followed the flow of soldiers into a large elevator. When they stepped off, Keith couldn't help but stare at the submarine. "It's a lot bigger than the model."

A wagon bumped into him, "Oh, sorry! Didn't see you there over all this." The large man, Keith recognized as Hunk the demolitions expert gestured to the large pile of explosives in the cart.

"That's a lot of volatile material," Shiro commented.

"Yeah, I've got dynamite, gunpowder, nitroglycerin, notepads, fuses, wicks, glue, and paper clips." Hunk ticked off his fingers as he went down the list, "You know, just office supplies."

"Keith! Shiro!" Mr. Marmora called out to them. He was walking with another man with slicked back purplish black hair, "I'd like to introduce to you Commander Zarkon. He led the Iceland team that retrieved the journal."

Keith shook his hand, "Keith Kogane."

Shiro shook his hand as well, "Shiro."

"It's a pleasure to meet the grandkids of that old Kogane. I see you've got the journal," He nodded towards the book in Keith's hands. "Nice pictures but I prefer an old western myself."

Thace nudged Keith with his elbow, "Impressive, isn't it?"

Keith nodded. "Yeah. When you settle a bet, you  _ really _ settle a bet."

"Your granddad always believed you couldn't put a price on the pursuit of knowledge." Thace smiled proudly.

"This'll be chump change compared to the value of what we're gonna learn on this trip." Keith smiled. (I don't think Shiro remembered a time when Keith smiled this much.)

"Oh, yes. This'll be enriching for all of us." Zarkon agreed.

Coran came over the PA system again, "Attention all personnel, the launch will commence in fifteen minutes."

Zarkon saluted Thace, "Mr. Marmora."

Thace saluted back, "Zarkon."

Keith and Shiro rushed to get onto the sub. "Bye, Mr. Marmora!" He shouted as the doors sealed shut.

"Make us proud, boys!" Thace shouted back.

The crew worked on sealing every port in the ship. "Lieutenant," Zarkon called Haggar, "take her down."

Haggar walked towards the edge of the deck to look over the pilots, "Diving officer, submerge the ship. Make the depth 1-5-0 feet." The officers complied and the submarine embarked on its journey to find Altea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to let Shiro have both his arms and then lose one later on (because angst and also so I don't have to worry about 1910s prosthetics)


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did someone call for a giant mechanical lobster to attempt to kill the children we all know and love? Zarkon and Haggar are there too, of course.

Keith walked into his quarters, small burlap sack in hand. A lump in the top bunk led him to believe someone had already claimed dibs so he settled into the bottom bunk. He was on the verge of falling asleep when he felt eyes on him. When a bright light shined in his face, his head jerked up, slamming against the bottom of the top bunk, in surprise.

"You have disturbed my tech," The girl with a headlamp growled. She was obviously much smaller than Keith but still managed to look threatening in her oversized green jacket.

Keith rubbed his aching head, "What?"

The girl flipped from the top bunk screaming, "You've disturbed my tech!" She pulled the covers off his bed to reveal small piles of technology with tiny flags sticking out. "Technology from around the world!"

"I'm sorry?" Keith tried. She looked familiar but he couldn't quite place her.

She gasped, "What have you done?! Rover must never touch the other countries! He's too special." She crooned, sweeping some stray bits of tech from what looked like a small drone or maybe a drill.

"What's it doing in my bed?" Keith shot back.

"You ask too many questions." Pidge whirled to face him. "Who are you? Who sent you? Say something!"

"Me? I'm-"

"Shut up, I'll find out myself," She interrupted him and grabbed his hand.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Keith tried to pry his hand from her grip but she's surprisingly strong.

"Shiro! There's a gremlin screaming at me!" Keith shouted out the open door.

"If one more person on this fucking submarine calls me a gremlin, I will kill you all." She hissed, pulling out some tweezers and plucking something out from underneath his fingernail. She placed it under a microscope and laughed, "There we go! Tell me your story, my little friend."

"What the hell?" Keith breathed.

"Parchment fiber from the Nile circa 500 B.C., lead number two pencil, paint flecks of a type used in government buildings. You have a cat, orange, short-haired tabby, two years old, third in a litter of seven." She listed off still examining the fingernail-gunk. She stared at him accusatorily, "These are all the microscopic fingerprints of the mapmaker." She licked the sample, "And linguist."

"How the fuck did you-"

"This is an outrage! You've gotta go! Out, out, out!" She grabbed his stuff and shoved them into his arms while simultaneously pushing him out the door. Keith found himself pushed into the chest of the demolition expert from earlier.

"Uh oh," He frowned sympathetically, "you sat in her tech, didn't you? Pidge, what've we talked about playing nice with the other kids?" 

Keith blinked a few times before realizing that this was Pidge Holt, the expert hacker, and engineer. She was shorter than he thought she'd be.

"But, Hunk-" Pidge tried to protest.

Hunk pointed a stern finger at her, "I will take away your coffee supply."

She sneered at him, "You're bluffing."

"Secret compartment behind the main computer on the bridge." Hunk challenged. 

Pidge glared at him before huffing and leaving the room. 

Hunk turned back to Keith, beaming. He outstretched his hand, "The name's Hunk, Hunk Garrett. We didn't properly meet on the loading bay. I'm the medical officer and explosives specialist."

"I know. Keith Kogane," He shook Hunk's hand firmly, grimacing slightly at the strong grip. 

This man was built like a tank, wearing a yellow shirt with a green vest and brown cargo pants. The yellowish orange bandana around his forehead moved as he moved to set down his large, black medical bag. "Keith Kogane? You're my three o'clock and there's no time like the present." He opened his bag and pulled out the biggest saw Keith had ever seen.

"Oh, fuck," Keith blanched.

"Beauty, isn't she? Catalog says she can saw through a femur in twenty-eight seconds. I bet I could cut that time in half," Hunk stuffed the saw back into the bag and pulled a popsicle stick from his vest. "Now stick out your tongue and say, 'ah'."

Keith put his hands up in an attempt to discourage the medic, "No, really, you don't have to."

Hunk stuck the popsicle stick in his mouth, "So where are you from?"

"Texas, originally, but my family moved to Washington D.C. when I was younger," He tried to say but with the wooden stick on his tongue, it came out more like a series of weird sounds.

Hunk seemed to understand anyway, "Really? I have family over there, beautiful state." He pulled the popsicle stick out of Keith's mouth and replaced it with a glass thermometer. He placed a stethoscope on Keith's chest, "Do you do any fishing?"

"No, not really," Keith tried to answer (again) but his answer coming out garbled (again).

"Me? I hate fishing. I hate fish. Everything about it makes me nauseous." Hunk removed the stethoscope and pulled out two large Griffin form beakers. "I'm gonna need you to fill these up."

Keith spit out the thermometer, "With what?!"

Coran's voice crackled over the PA system, "Will Keith Kogane please report to the bridge? Thank you."

Keith sighed in relief and whispered a small, "Thank  _ you _ ." He caught himself, "I mean nice meeting you!" He ran out of the room as quickly as he could to escape the awkward situation.

"Nice meeting you too!" Hunk shouted back.   
  
  


 

"Sir, we're approaching coordinates," Coran informed Zarkon over the intercoms.

"Let's have a look around," Zarkon ordered.

"Aye, sir. Set course to 2-4-0, fifteen percent down angle on the bow planes. Come right, 2-4-0," Haggar instructed the pilots.

Keith climbed the stairs to the bridge with a bag of notes and, of course, the Shepherd's Journal. Shiro and Pidge were already there and Hunk was most likely on his way.

"Welcome to the bridge, Mr. Kogane," Zarkon greeted him. "Everyone, I want you to give Mr. Kogane your undivided attention."

Keith stepped in front of a screen projector and pulled out his slides. He ignored Shiro's snickers in the background and pulled up the first slides, "Good afternoon. Y'all can hear me, okay?" When all he received was a thumbs up from Pidge, he continued. "This first slide is a monster so frightening, that sailors were said to be driven mad just by looking at it." He pushed the first slide in but instead of it being of a terrifying behemoth, it was just Shiro at the beach.

"Hubba hubba," Coran and Haggar said at the same time. Shiro covered his blushing face.

Keith quickly pulled out the slide and swapped it for another one, "Sorry, don't know how those got in there." He muttered. The new slide depicted a crustacean-like leviathan destroying a ship. " _ This _ is the leviathan that's said to be guarding the entrance to Altea."

Hunk made his appearance, slightly winded from having to sprint. "That's something I'd pair with like a white wine, I think." He commented.

"According to the Bible, it's supposed to breathe fire or lightning, or something like that, but it's probably just a sculpture to scare the superstitious." Keith shrugged.

"So we find this masterpiece and then what?" Zarkon prodded.

Pidge raised her hand with an evil glint in her eyes, "When do we get to dig?"

"Actually, we might not have to." Keith shut off the projector and grabbed a piece of black chalk, not missing the fact that she visibly deflates. He drew while he spoke, "According to the journal, the path to Altea will take us down a tunnel at the bottom of the ocean where we'll come up a curve and into an air pocket. There we'll find the remnants of an ancient highway that'll lead us to Altea."

"Kind of like the grease trap in your sink," Shiro added.

"Right," Keith nodded.

"Cartographer, linguist, plumber. Hard to believe he's still single," Haggar smiled. Keith didn't want to know whether she was talking about him or Shiro.

"You said there would be digging," Pidge pouted at Haggar.

"Go away, Pidge." She waved off the younger girl.

"Captain," A pilot interrupted, "you'd better take a look at this, sir."

"Alright, class dismissed," Zarkon walked over toward the pilot, followed by Shiro, Keith, and Haggar. "Give me exterior lights." When the lights shone on the seafloor, they saw it was covered with decimated ships.

"Oh my god, there are ships from every era here," Keith leaned over the railing for a better look.

Coran came over the speakers again, "Commander? I think you should hear this."

"Predeshtem logtu nug nah geb," Keith read aloud from the Shepherd's journal.

"Commander," Coran repeated.

"Enter the lair of the Leviathan. There you will find the path to the gateway," Shiro translated.

"Commander," Coran repeated.

"Yes, Coran?" Zarkon sighed, irritated. "What is it?"

"I'm picking up something on the hydrophone that I think you should hear," Coran reported.

"Put it on speakers," Zarkon instructed. Loud groaning and whooshing noises filled the submarine. They all rushed to Coran's booth.

"What is it? A pod of whales?" Zarkon leaned over Coran's shoulder.

"Nope," Coran shook his head, "bigger."

Haggar fiddled with the dials on his machinery, "It sounds metallic. It could be an echo off one of the rocks."

Coran glared at the blonde, "Do you want to do my job? Be my guest."

"Is it just me or is it getting louder?" Keith asked mildly worried. The noises stopped completely.

"Well," Haggar started after a long pause, "whatever it was, it's gone now."

"Helmsman!" Zarkon shouted at one of the pilots, "Bring us about. Tighten our search pattern and slow us to-"

Something crashed into the sub setting off numerous alarms. A colossal lobster could be seen swimming around the port side. 

Pidge raced down below the decks to take care of possible flooding while Zarkon barked orders. "Haggar, tell Hunk I want this lobster served up on a silver platter." 

"Load the torpedo bays! Subpod crews, battle stations!" Haggar yelled at the crew, Hunk joining those in the subpods. She jerked backward, barely catching herself on the railing when the Leviathan crashed into the sub again. It grabbed both ends of the sub and brought it towards its face.

The sudden jerking had Keith flying over the railings to land on the glass, directly in front of the Leviathan's eye. "Holy fuck! It's a machine!" He shouted.

"Launch the pods!" Zarkon ordered. Outside the window, Keith could see ten tiny pods split up. Five of those ten were taking on the Leviathan directly.

"We're free! All ahead full," Zarkon continued shouting orders. "Fire torpedos!" The on-ship defense system shot hundreds of torpedos at the Leviathan, but that only served to make it angrier. In retaliation, the Leviathan shot a beam of electricity from its mouth, piercing the hull.

"Sir, it's engineering on four," Coran called calmly.

Zarkon pulled a lever to hear Pidge screaming, "Zarkon! We took a big hit down here and we're taking on water fast. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be around when it hits the boilers."

"How much time do we have?" He asked.

"Twenty minutes, if the bulkhead holds." A large groan could be heard from her side. "Make that five minutes."

"You heard the lady," Zarkon shouted, "move! Move!" 

"Move where?" Keith shouted back as crew hands shoved him and Shiro towards escape pods.

Haggar leaned over the railing, "Coran! Sound the alarm!"

"He took his suitcase? Honey, I don't think he's coming back." Coran chattered calmly to his friend.

"Coran!" Haggar screamed.

"I have to call you back. No, I'll call you," Coran finished before flipping a switch to activate the evacuation alarm. "All hands abandon ship."

Keith ran behind Hunk and Pidge, looking back every five seconds to make sure Shiro was still with him. Haggar hurried them into a hatch yelling, "Move it, people! Sometime today would be nice!" She shut the hatch. "Grab a seat and buckle in!" She climbed into the front seat next to Zarkon.

"Lieutenant, get us out of here!" He hollered. Haggar attempted to move the release but it was stuck. "Lieutenant!"

"I'm working on it!" She shouted back, pushing against the lever with all her strength.

The Leviathan shot the ship, again, head on. 

Finally, Haggar just kicked the release. "Hang on!"

"Where to, Mr. Kogane?" Zarkon questioned.

Keith opened up the journal, "We're looking for a crevice of some kind."

Zarkon pointed to a trench up ahead, "There!"

Haggar pulled down the comm system, "All craft, make your mark twenty degrees down angle!"

The Leviathan grabbed a few pods but it couldn't follow them through the crevice. As a last attempt at thwarting its adversaries, it shot one final laser. Several pods were knocked off course and three exploded.

"It's only a grease trap," Shiro chanted. 

"It's just like a sink," Keith chanted with him, voice bordering on hysterical.

Haggar piloted them through the narrow tunnel with skill. Keith and Shiro sighed in relief when they breached the surface relatively unscathed.  Haggar and Zarkon climbed out of the pod with a flashlight to look around the cave they'd made it to. Gargantuan ruins, carved in the shape of some kind of beast, covered the shore. On further inspection of the area, the group came to an upsetting conclusion.

Only one other pod made it with them.

  
  
  
  


Hunk released a bowl with a candle into the water as Zarkon recited an obituary for their fallen comrades. 

"Seven hours ago, we started this expedition with two hundred of the finest men and women I've ever known. We are all that's left." He sighed, gesturing to fifty-odd crew members that survived thanks to Haggar's piloting. "I won't sugar-coat it, we have a crisis on our hands. But we've been up this particular creek before and we've always come through, paddle or no paddle. I see no reason to change that policy now. From here on in, everyone pulls double duty. Everyone drives, everyone works." He looked at Keith and Shiro. "Looks like you boys are our only chance for survival. You two, and that little book."

Pidge smacked her forehead against Hunk's arm, "We're all gonna die."

"Okay, people. Saddle up," Zarkon switched back to commander mode. "Lieutenant, I want this convoy moving five minutes ago."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i might start trying to be clever with the chapter titles but not now


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Author tries her best to show the voyage through the caves before Altea and fails miserably

"Pidge, you're on point! Hunk, no. You know the rules, I want you fifty yards behind oiler at all times. Coran, stop fiddling with your mustache!" Haggar shouted orders as everyone flew around the scattered vehicles.

Zarkon glared at the annoying sound of a horn being honked repeatedly. It seemed Keith found an unclaimed car. He sidled up to the younger boy and crushed the horn, "Are you sure you're checked out on this class of vehicle?" When the only answered he received was a blank stare, Zarkon rolled his eyes. "Can you drive a truck?"

Keith scoffed and crossed his arms, "I can drive a motorcycle. How much different could a car be?"

Zarkon rose an eyebrow before sighing and walking away muttering, "Kids."

Keith stepped inside the truck, fully prepared to start driving when Shiro immediately pulled him back out. "Nope, you're not driving. I am."

"Why?"

"Because driving stick is harder than it looks and you don't have a drivers license," Shiro stated as-a-matter-of-factly, stepping inside the truck.

"I have a motorcycle license," Keith cried.

"Not the same thing," Shiro laughed. He started up the truck. "Now are you walking or are you going to hop in?"

"Fine," Keith grumbled a little before sliding into the passenger side.

Shiro smiled and followed Pidge through the tunnels. "Is it legal for someone _that_  young to be driving something _that_  big?" He asked at one point.

"Are you going to try and stop her?" Keith asked.

"Nope."

 

 

Occasionally, the train of cars would stop to lower vehicles down cliff faces or if Keith was needed to guide them through a split pathway. Shiro helped occasionally, but not as often since he led them to a monster tunnel. Keith took the book from him, flipped it right-side up, and facepalmed at his brother's stupidity. Pidge found it hilarious. At one point when they were stopped, Keith took a swig from a canteen and Pidge raced up to him with a worried expression on her face.

"Oh no. You didn't drink that did you?" she asked pointing to the container.

"Yeah, why?"

"That's nitroglycerin," She slapped the (closed) canteen out of his hands. "Don't breath. Don't move. Don't do anything. Except, maybe pray, if you're religious."

Shiro popped out from behind a wagon of explosives shouting, "Boom!"

Keith jumped, "Holy fuck!"

Pidge high-fived his brother, "Nice!"

Keith stared at his hands, "Betrayed by my own flesh and blood." Shiro just rolled his eyes.

 

 

After a while, Keith stopped riding in the truck and just walked along the road next to some armed guards with the journal, comparing the carvings to the drawings. All of them had to climb a while after that. Shiro and Hunk were at the top, helping Pidge and Shiro over the ridge.

When Keith insisted that he didn't need help, Shiro just picked him up and placed Keith beside him. "Too late."

 

 

They made camp later. While Shiro was befriending Hunk and Pidge further, Keith was studying and translating the Sheperd's Journal.

  
  


A large pillar stood before a huge cavern. Keith ran his hands along the sides of it, "Look at this, Shiro! It's gotta be half a mile high, at the very least! This must have taken hundreds, maybe thousands of years to carve!"

Hunk finished setting up his explosives, pulled Keith away from the base of the pillar, and blew it up. The pillar crashed down to the other side of the chasm forming a nice bridge for them to cross. "Look I made a bridge. It only took me, like, what? Ten seconds? Eleven tops."

Keith pouted at the destroyed marvel but shivered. It felt like something, or someone was watching him.

 

The second obstacle made its appearance several hours after the last.

"Looks like we've got a little roadblock," Zarkon commented. "Hunk, what do you think?"

Hunk surveyed the large wall of stone before them. "I _could_  unroadblock that if I had about two hundred of these," he gestured to the stick of dynamite in his hand, "but the problem is I've only got, like, ten. Plus five of my own, a couple cherry bombs, and a road flare."

Shiro smirked, "Hey, Keith, too bad we don't have any nitroglycerin." Pidge cackled from her spot in the drill.

"Looks like we're going to have to dig," Zarkon announced.

Pidge gasped, "It would be my pleasure!" Pidge brought the drill up to the stone barrier and began drilling. She barely made it a foot in before the inside of the drill started smoking and sparking. She groaned and hopped out of the driver's seat to check the engine around the back. "I don't understand! I _just_ this thing up this morning!" She climbed into the engine and rifled around a bit.

Keith walked up tentatively, "Um, Pidge?"

Pidge groaned again, "It looks like the rotor's shot!" She climbed out of the engine "I'm gonna have to pull a spare from one of the trucks."

"Can I just-"

"Ne touchez à rien!" She whirled around. "I will be right back."

As soon as she was out of sight, Keith picked up a wrench, fiddled with a few knobs, and smacked the piping with the wrench. The drill roared back to life.

"He lives!" Pidge ran back shrieking. She hugged the wheel of the drill before glaring at Keith, "What did you do?"

"The boiler here is a Humac model P54/813 and the one back at the museum was an 814 so I know how temperamental their heating cores can be," Keith shrugged.

"Yeah, yeah, thank you very much," She closed up the engine and reared her fist back like she was going to punch him. Instinctively, he brought up his arms to block the hit but she didn't. "Two for flinching," She snickered and socked him twice in the arm. Pidge hopped back into her drill and cut a path through the long rock block.  
  
  
  


Keith held the journal up to the natural, green-lit, stone chandelier and compared the images. "Yep, this is it. It's gotta be."

"All right, we'll make camp here," Zarkon decided.

 Pidge glanced up at the stone chandelier, "Why is it glowing?"

 "It's a natural phosphorescence," Shiro said.

"That thing," Hunk jabbed a finger in the direction of the light, "is going to keep me up all night, I know it."

  
  
  


This mealtime wasn't much different than the previous ones. At least, in the beginning.

"For the appetizer, Caesar salad, escargot, and your Oriental spring rolls." Coran went serving people strange, green goo on their metal trays. Keith barely glanced up when he made his way over to him, "Hello, Keith."

"Hey, Coran."

"You should put some meat on your bones," Coran glopped some goo onto his tray.

"Thanks, Coran, it looks weirder than usual," Keith grimaced.

"You like it? Well, have some more," Coran piled more onto his plate. "You're so skinny if you turned sideways and stuck out your tongue you'd look like a yalmor."

"A what?" Keith asked but Coran was already gone. "Man, that guy's weird."

Pidge nudged Shiro, "Call your brother over. It's time to induct him into the cult." 

"For the last time, Pidge, we're not calling our friend group a cult," Hunk rubbed his eyes.

"Hey, Keith!" Shiro called out. "Stop being such an introverted nerd and come sit with us." 

Keith looked up from his notes and closed his journal. "Really?"

"Yeah, come on over," Shiro nodded to the empty seat next to him. 

Keith picked up the Sheperd's Journal and his try of food, "Alright. I'll be social." Just as Keith sat down, Pidge sprinted over with a whoopee cushion. 

Pidge laughed at Hunk and Shiro's affronted faces when they heard the noise, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I couldn't resist!" 

"Hey, Keith, don't you ever put that book down?" Hunk asked. Keith had started reading the journal again, not even slightly bothered by the practical joke.

"Yeah, you must've read it a dozen times by now," Shiro agreed.

"I know, but there's this one part that doesn't make any sense," Keith leaned towards Shiro and pointed towards what he was talking about. "Here it sounds like the Sheperd was leading up to something he called the heart of Atlantis. It could be the power source in all those legends but then it just... cuts off."

"Almost like there's a missing page?" Pidge stood on the edge of the brother's bench to lean over Keith's head.

"Right," Keith nodded.

"Don't worry about it. We're not getting paid overtime," Pidge shrugged, sitting back down with Hunk.

"I know," Keith set down the book.

"He gets a little carried away at times," Shiro gazed teasingly at his little brother.

"Maybe, but that's what this is all about right? Discovery, teamwork, adventure." Keith elbowed Shiro in the ribs. "Unless you're both in it for the money."

Hunk nodded, "Money."

Pidge agreed, "Ditto. Gotta say money."

Keith laughed at his naivety. "I set myself up for that one." He grunted at a crick in his neck that had been bothering him for a while.

"Oh," Hunk perked up, "is there something wrong with your neck?" He made his

"Yeah, I must've hurt it when-"

Hunk grabbed Keith's head and twisted it from side to side, "Better?"

Keith rolled his neck, "Yeah, actually. How'd you learn to do that?"

"An Arapaho medicine man."

"No way," Keith shook his head disbelievingly.

"Born and raised with them," Hunk pulled out a photo of his parents. "My dad was an army medic who settled down in the Kansas territory after he met my mom."

"No kidding."

"Nope. I got a sheepskin from Howard U," Hunk drew a necklace with various oddities, "and a bearskin from old Iron Cloud. Halfway through medical school, I was drafted. One day I'm studying gross anatomy in the classroom, the next I'm sewing up Rough Rides on San Juan Hill."

Coran popped out of nowhere with more goo, "Main course, anyone?"

"No thanks," Shiro and Hunk refused.

"I couldn't eat another bite," Keith lied.

"I'm watching my figure," Pidge claimed.

"Okay, then, but don't you worry. There's plenty more where that came from." Coran wheeled his pot full of goo out of sight.

As soon as he was gone, they dumped the remains of their food into the fireplace causing a mushroom cloud of smoke to form.

"If any of you get hungry, you can stop by my tent," Hunk whispered to Shiro and Keith.  
  
  


"Aren't you going to pitch up your tent?" Pidge asked Keith. 

Keith side-glanced his clusterfuck of a tent, "Um, I did?"

Shiro rolled his eyes and made his way to help Keith but Pidge beat him to it. "I got this."

Keith flushed with embarrassment, "I guess I'm still a little rusty at this. I haven't gone camping since the last time our grandfather took us."

"Done," Pidge quickly retreated back to her own tent, barely giving Keith time to thank her.

Hunk settled near the front of his own tent, "I never got to meet your grandfather. What was he like?"

"Where do I even start?" Keith smiled at the ground. "He was like a father to me. Both my parents died when I was young but then Shiro and his grandfather took me in."

Shiro laughed. 

"What?" Keith asked.

"I was thinking about the time we went hiking when we were eight," Shiro admitted. "We were all walking along this stream when you saw something shining in the water."

"It was an arrowhead," Keith nodded, laying down his bedroll. 

"You'd think he found a lost civilization the way Grandpa talked about it," Shiro made a sound that was half laughing, half sigh.

"It wasn't until I was a little older," Keith addressed Hunk, "that I realized the arrowhead was just some compressed shale mixed with zinc pyrite that had fractured into an isosceletic triangulate." 

Hunk nodded, "Makes sense."

"Hey, Pidge," Keith turned towards her, "no offense, but how does someone as young as you get to be the chief tech expert of a multimillion dollar expedition?"

"I took this job when my dad retired, but the funny thing was he always wanted one of his kids to run his machine shop and the other to be middleweight boxing champion." Pidge hummed. "He ended up with my brother and me."

"What happened to your brother?" Keith asked.

"Well, when we were younger, he went missing. He's back now, though, twenty-four and zero, with a shot at the title next month." She smiled proudly. "I'm saving up so my dad and I can open another shop."

Coran passed by their tents in a simple blue robe.

"Forget your jammies, Coran?" Shiro questioned.

"Oh, no! I sleep naked," Coran replied chipper as always.

Hunk tossed them both black sleeping masks, "You're gonna want those. He sleepwalks."

Keith and Shiro paled.

Hunk laid down on his bedroll, "As far as I go, I just like to blow things up."

Pidge threw a screw at him, "Tell the truth, Hunk."

Hunk sighed, "My family owned a bakery. My dad and I would bake fresh pastries every morning. One day, I'm making a huge, last-minute, wedding cake with the bride panicking and calling every other hour for updates. 'How's the cake going?', 'It is vanilla, correct?', 'Make sure there's nothing gluten on them'. It's a nightmare. I guess there was a gas leak next door because boom! No more Chinese laundry next door. Blew me right through the window. It was like a sign, I found myself in that boom."

"That's amazing," Keith remarked.

Hunk shrugged, "We all have those stories. Goodnight, guys." He reached over to the lamp and blew out the flame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My boi is coming next


End file.
